Introduction.

 A server is a computer program that offer services to other network

hosts. The term is also used to refer to the physical machines which
run server programs in data centers or in other places if it’s a personal
server. They can be dedicated to a specific duty of handling client
requests in a client/server architecture or be used for multiple
purposes. Conversely, a client is a workstation that is capable of
sending request to a server and obtaining information or applications
as a response from it. Ideally, clients can be simple applications or a
whole system which receives responses from the server. There are
different types of servers which are classified depending on the
purpose. For instance, webservers servers display HTML pages or
deliver other types of data according to client requests.

 A client-server network often provides a model for communication in

which multiple clients share services from a common server program
(Adler, R. M, 14-22.). This is evident with the webserver i.e. the
computing device to which web browser is a client. While client/server
concept may be used for single-computer solutions, the approach is
mostly applied in networking environments. In networking scenario, a
client often initiates communication with a server in the same network.
Usually, this connection is terminated once the request is fulfilled.

 In the current business world, network connectivity is a core aspect to

enable access to corporate resources. This owes to the fact that most
business operations prefer to run all day and even at the off hours. To
maintain continuity in business, a solid business redundancy strategy
should be implemented. Therefore, a company should ensure that
servers’ availability is upheld. The network architecture should be set
to maintain high level of availability by finding remedies to breakages
and unforeseen events. Therefore, it is necessary to plan and build
the proper network configuration in order to always have both the
company workforce and its customers in touch with one another and
with system. Besides, servers can be clustered and other applications’
and web properties’ load get balanced.
Description

The main aim of a redundant network is to provide continuity of

service delivery when the primary network is down. There are different
types of redundancy which are dependent on the sources of failures in
the network. Some of the redundancies in a client/server network are:
power redundancy, geographical, hardware, and pathway
redundancies.

Power redundancy is the backup system for the power supply used in
case the primary sources of power go offline. The redundant power
supply may include generators, an auxiliary power supply line, and
battery backups. Geographical redundancy is achieved by installing
redundant systems in different locations to prevent the failure of
network system as a result of occurrence of natural disasters.
Hardware backup system is a redundancy mechanism is applied by
the installation of separate servers to mitigate on the effect of failure
as a result of physical damages of the primary servers (Cristian, F,
56-78.). Lastly, pathway redundancy is achieved by the installation of
different network nodes. A network may have both the wired and
wireless connections. In such a system, if one medium gets damaged,
the other medium takes over.

Some of the protocols that are useful in the client/server service

delivery are the Domain Name System (DNS) and Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP). The first one is mainly applied in
mapping domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses during
network access initialization. The DHCP is mostly used to allocate IP
addresses to the end users. DNS databases are usually used both
internally and externally. The functionality of the internal DNS server
often relies on the availability and operation of the DNS servers
located in the demilitarized zones (DMZ). Communication between the
external world and an organization is facilitated by an external DNS.
DHCP is frequently used internally to allocate IP addresses to internal
hosts.

The figure below presents a hardware redundancy system for a DNS

server network. In this network, the DNS server system of the
organization is composed of primary and secondary servers. In the
figure, the primary server has a direct link to the zone data while the
secondary servers are the slaves to the master, the primary server
(Gadir, et al.,2005). The secondary servers are configured with
different IP addresses to increase the network reliability rate.

Figure 1: Shows the configuration of primary and secondary servers.

For high DNS availability, virtual internet protocol address (VIPA) is
shared across multiple DNS servers by the router redundancy protocol
(Bell, J. A., Britton, E. G.,1999). With this networking, when one node
fails, another node will continue providing services. Apart from
providing redundancy, the network allows easy expansion of itself
without causing any delays in the service delivery. The disadvantage
of the system in the figure below is that when the entire system of the
switch fails, the network fails as well. The operation of the network is
summarized in the figure below.

Figure 2: Shows a network for the DNS availability.

Another technique that allows the availability of DNS services is the

DNS Anycast. This system allows multiple and geographically diverse
DNS servers to make advertisement of the same IP address to clients.
The client’s query is delivered to the nearest DNS server and if one of
the servers fails, the query will be routed to the next nearest one.

DHCP network is composed of DHCP client, server, and relay agent.

The DHCP client is a host device that requests IP address and other
resources from the DHCP server. Client and server may reside on the
same network or in different ones; in last case, DHCP agent is what
ensures the information gets delivered between them. For a consistent
delivery of DHCP services to all the hosts in a network, a redundant
network of the DHCP system should be provided. Essentially, a
network should have multiple DHCP servers and relay agents to
prevent disruption of service delivery in case of the primary devices
failure.